I could understand that if it was a company phone (e.g. your company is paying for the service and perhaps it is pay-per-use SMS or limited data)... but that is pretty lame if they're disabling those features on a personal phone of yours.

I would talk to someone on your IT staff and ask them if they can give you a less restrictive policy. Actually, don't say "may I have a less restrictive policy." I'd approach them with the idea that maybe it would be beneficial to have less restrictive policies for people who pay for their own plans.